''America'' was a steam cargo ship built in 1914 by the Sørlandets Skibsbyggeri of Fevig for the Norge Mexico Gulf Linjen. She was ordered by the line before being acquired by Wilhelm Wilhelmsen.

Design and construction

In 1913 an English firm Fearnley & Eger and Wilhelm Wilhelmsen established the "Norwegian Africa and Australia Line" (NAAL). At about the same time the two companies also took over the "Norge Mexico Gulf Linjen" (NMGL) involved in oil and oil products transportation to South America. NMGL ordered a new ship in 1913 before the acquisition, and ''America'' was completed for Wilhelm Wilhelmson for NOK 1,297,000.57 next year. The ship was laid down in 1913 at Sørlandets Skibsbyggeri shipyard in Fevig, launched on 3 September 1914 (yard number 169) and commissioned in October of the same year. As built, the ship was long ( between perpendiculars) and

abeam This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

, a mean draft of . ''America'' was assessed at 3,706 GRT, and 5,800 DWT. The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 310

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinders of , , and diameter with a

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, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to .

Operational history

After completion ''America'' was put on the Norway-USA route connecting the East Coast ports of Boston and Philadelphia with Bergen and Kristiania. The vessel loaded up cargo, which included among other things granite, at Stavanger and then Bergen and departed for her maiden voyage on November 3, 1914 for Havana via Boston and other ports.Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende, November 5, 1914, p.7 The ship arrived at Boston on November 21Philadelphia Inquirer, November 22, 1914, p.19 and departed the next day for Philadelphia where she arrived two days later.Tønsbergs Blad, November 28, 1914, p.2 From Philadelphia ''America'' continued on her journey, called at Newport News on November 28 before proceeding to Havana the next day. ''America'' arrived in Havana on December 4,Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende, December 5, 1914, p.7 unloaded her cargo and departed Cuba on December 11 for Galveston which she reached two days later.Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende, December 14, 1914, p.6Tønsbergs Blad, December 19, 1914, p.2 After taking on cargo, the ship departed for Kristiania via Gulf ports and Newport News and arrived at her destination on January 29, 1915.Tønsbergs Blad, January 30, 1915, p.2 ''America'' departed for her next and final voyage from Kristiania to Boston on February 25, 1915. She carried about 7,000 bales of cellulose, 1,400 bales of tree pulp, 1,800 boxes of canned goods and was not fully loaded.Aftenposten, February 28, 1915, p.5 The ship arrived at Boston on March 13,Tønsbergs Blad, March 16, 1915, p.2 and after unloading left Boston on March 19 for Philadelphia, arriving there three days later.Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende, March 22, 1915, p.6Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende, March 24, 1915, p.6

Sinking

''America'' departed from Philadelphia on 28 March 1915 for her final voyage to Bergen with approximately 5,000 tons of general cargo. She had to stop at Kirkwall for inspection by the British authorities and spent 4 days there, departing 16 April 1915 to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. Upon arrival there next day, she had to unload part of her cargo including oil, leather and food supplies deemed to be contraband by the British. She left from Sunderland on 1 May 1915 with only 1,500 tons of cargo. Shortly after 22:00 on May 1, about east-northeast from the

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the ship was struck on port side in her engine room by a torpedo. The vessel quickly filled up with water, forcing her Captain Johan Endresen to order the crew to abandon ship. Three lifeboats were lowered and all 37 crew left the ship. ''America'' sank stern first at about 00:50 on May 2 in an approximate position . The torpedo was launched by the German submarine .

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America 1914 ships Cargo ships of Norway Steamships of Norway World War I merchant ships of Norway Maritime incidents in 1915 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea